Man dismisses $319,000 Lotto win as prank by his mates
A Melbourne man revealed he put his winning $319,000 TattsLotto ticket aside after believing it was a prank by one of his mates.
The Kings Park man held one of the 17 division one winning entries in TattsLotto draw 4265, drawn Saturday, June 4, which earned him $319,939.66.
The lucky winner admitted he took several days to discover his newfound fortune, after mistaking winning phone calls from lottery officials for telemarketers.
“I’m gobsmacked,” the winner told an official from The Lott.
“I didn’t know what was going on. I’ve been busy at work this week, and I work with a lot of machinery, so I couldn’t hear any of the phone calls,” he revealed.
Once he saw the missed calls, the winning man immediately assumed it was telemarketers trying to call him.
“As days went by, I received a letter in the mail from The Lott, which I thought was a prank made by one of my mates. I put it aside for a day or so and forgot about it,” he confessed.
‘This made my heart skip a beat’
While enjoying his morning coffee on Thursday, curiosity got the best of the Melburnian and he decided to open the letter.
“I went to sit down this morning to enjoy a coffee. I remembered the letter and decided to call in to see what it was about,” he revealed.
“I’m amazed. This made my heart skip a beat! I’ve taken many screenshots of the win because every time I look at it, it makes me smile.”
Although the winner’s friends have noticed his happy demeanour following the winning news, the winner has decided to keep it on the down-low and only tell his close family.
He revealed that he plans to use his windfall sensibly and invest the prize, rather than indulging himself.
“I’d like to make the most out of this win and invest the entire prize – straight to savings it goes!”
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Lottery winners often suspicious until they check their tickets
The Lott spokesman Matt Hart told Yahoo News Australia winners are often initially suspicious of their newfound fortune, which is why they always urge players to check their tickets.
“As you can imagine, since lotteries began, winners have always been surprised by the revelation and often share they’re initially suspicious that such good fortune could possibly come their way. That is, of course… until they check their ticket themselves,” he said.
“We always recommend players check their tickets – either by scanning their ticket at an outlet, entering their ticket number on The Lott website, or scanning their ticket via The Lott app.”
After checking using one of these options, it becomes pretty clear if a player is a winner, or not.
The winning numbers in TattsLotto draw 4265 were 23, 25, 7, 13, 8, and 17, while the supplementary numbers were 42 and 31.
Across Australia, there was 17 division one winning entries in TattsLotto draw 4265 – six in WA, four in Victoria, three in Queensland, two in SA and one each in Tasmania and the NT.
If gambling is a problem for you go to Gambling Help Online or call 1800 858 858.
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